Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives In 1975, Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and began to steer it towards what many have dubbed ÔThatcherismÕ. Margaret Thatcher believed in radical change, individuality, and a strong Government that enforces the law, rather than interfering in the economy. She was also opposed to the welfare state. In many ways, her ideology was broadly similar to classical liberalism, and many theorists see her ideology as neo-liberalism. Under her rule, the Conservatives were no longer truly conservative, as conservatives are usually opposed to too much individualism and liberty, and definitely do not want radical change. However, in terms of morality they remained staunchly conservative, believing strongly in the family and in law and order. It can be said then that the Conservative Party had become economically liberal but morally conservative. The Modern Conservative Party

This Classical liberal ideology is still prevalent in todayÕs Conservative Party. Consecutive leaders after Thatcher have all stayed relatively true to her reforms of the party and its ideology, believing in economic classical liberalism. However, in recent times they have struggled to get their message across as supposedly they are liberals, and yet are often against homosexuality, drugs and immigration-ideas which are much more right wing and against the very principles of Liberalism. This has led to a decline in their support, as people do not know what ideology the Conservatives are trying to represent, as some of their ideas seem to conflict with each other. In this way, it could be said that the Conservative Party do not reflect a specific ideology because they are often seen as a confusing amalgamation of several with no real, specific ideological status. It would be wrong to describe them as a conservative party, as they are in favour of change, but it would also be wrong to label them as a classical liberal party as they are essentially opposed to too much freedom of the individual. Recent Developments in the Conservative Party

Under their new leader, David Cameron, the Conservatives seem to have moved more right wing. Some of their main policies include creating more law and order, cracking down on immigration by bringing in Border police, and stopping people claiming too many welfare benefits if they are able to work. All of these policies are much less liberal and more conservative, showing that perhaps the Conservative Party are shifting to the right under David Cameron. However, it is still laden with neo-liberalist views, such as increasing choice and opportunities for the individual and cuts in Government spending. Therefore, it cannot truly be said that the Conservative Party follow a conservative ideology, nor do they follow a liberal ideology. They are an interesting mixture of neo-liberal economic policies, combined with moral and social conservatism. This makes them hard to place on any political spectrum, and thus it cannot be said that they really reflect any specific ideology.

ÔOldÕ Labour

Prior to Tony BlairÕs electoral success of 1997, the Labour Party were torn by ideological strife, with two main factions emerging. On the one side were the socialists, who wanted to turn Labour into a fully-fledged socialist party, while others, the Social Democrats, who wanted to move the party into the centre ground. The main problem was that this ideological strife made the party seem weak and resulted in a lot of election failures. The Labour Party did not really have an ideological stance at this time, with some leaders favouring socialism, while others favouring a social democrat approach. The main problem was that this haphazard ideology and constant struggle for power made the party seem virtually unelectable to the populace. Many argued that the Labour Party talked like socialists, but acted like social democrats, and after many of these unhappy social...

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...extent do the UK’s major parties accept Thatcherite ideas and policies?
In 1975, Margaret Thatcher became leader of the ConservativeParty and began the idea of Thatcherism. Margaret Thatcher believed in individuality, radical change and a strong Government that enforces the law, rather than interfering in the economy. Her ideas were seen as being very similar to classical liberalism. Under her rule, the Conservatives were no longer...

...
Thatcherism well-liked the idea of privatising, so she privatised industries such as oil, coal and gas. The current Conservativeparty has not made any changes to this policies in fact they have kept to it. In 2013 the Royal Mail was privatised. This shows us that the party has not completely abandoned Thatcherism, however many would argue that the Conservativeparty is not privatising as much as Mrs Thatcher did in fact...

...
The Liberals wished to solve the Irish problem to benefit the Irish people whereas the Conservatives attempted to solve the Irish Problem to fulfil their own aims and to bluster their Irish Nationalist support. Both parties had little success though the conservatives had more than the Liberals as they had a more practical approach.
As an attempt to solve the Irish problem, Gladstone implemented the Second Land Reform in 1881, where in which he...

...CIs it true to say that the ConservativeParty did more to solve the ‘Land Question’ in Ireland in the period 1870-1903 than the Liberals?
In order to answer this question it is first necessary to define the ‘Land Question’. The ‘Land Question’ entailed the relationship between the landlord and the tenant, the ownership of the land, farm size and poor quality produce. Both the liberals and the Conservativesparties brought about...

...with the view that Conservative economic policy was a success in the years 1979-1983?
The Conservative government saw its high and lows from the year 1979 to 1983 however overall it was a success, however this success was only due to the fact that the Conservatives brought about some extreme changes in relation to their economic policy. One of these extreme changes was Thatcher’s adoption of the monetarism. Sources 7 and 9 take into consideration the...

...The ConservativeParty which was leaded by Winston Churchill (1951-55) and Anthony Eden (1955-57) and Harold Macmillan (1957-63) between the years 1951-59 wanted, according to their manifesto in 1951, to stop all further nationalisation. The Iron and Steel Act will be repealed and the Steel industry allowed resuming its achievements of the war and post-war years. To supervise prices and development we shall revive, if necessary with added powers, the former Iron...

...Republican party a fiscally conservativeparty? (30)
The term Fiscal Conservative is broad term used to describe the group of Republican’s whose ideologies fall in line with traditional right wing economic and fiscal policy. This can be furthered to those who are associated with the Tea Party movement on the populist right and it is important to remember that the majority of Republicans are fiscally...

...How successful was the conservativeparty from 1918- 1928?
As a party the Conservatives can be seen to have achieved considerable success between the years 1918-28. Before the war the party had lost 3 consecutive elections, whereas during the period 1918-28 they were in power for all but 10 months of those 10 years (First Labour Government January- October 1924). It can then be seen through their domination of power that...